suspects, irreversible effects of the Internet and the gross impacts of mega retailers who can often sell stuff for less than their smaller local competitors can buy it, and will do so even if it means a short- term loss to put the small guy out of business. The report is thought- provoking, but our retail queen does fall into a well-worn trap when she recommends that “Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres, and we should have a new parking league table.”

Yes, yet another expert who

believes that there is such a thing as free parking, and that it is brought down to a town near you by little fairies who make it in fairyland. Now calm down, John, take the blue tablet and sit in a dark room until the voices stop.

We have the Olympics here in a few months’ time. With

typical, nay, traditional British casual incompetence, it looks as if it will be all right on the day, even though there seems to be a continuous string of cock-ups (am I allowed to say that in America?) leading up to the start.

For example, selling the tickets should be simple. There are more people wanting to go than there are seats, so there is some kind of draw so everyone gets a fair chance. Unfortunately, the

system was run so badly that whilst some people got tickets for everything, others got nothing.

During the Summer Games, London will impose a special traffic and parking regime, which will disrupt the whole of central and eastern London for the period...

In addition, the organizers have suddenly got very shy when being asked how many tickets got set aside for “special groups,” and why the families of the contestants and the people who have devoted their whole lives to helping develop sport in the UK are not in these groups.

Do not despair if you want to

come, because it seems that some of the smaller countries are quite happy to sell on their ticket allocation to outsiders despite this being against the rules. During the Summer Games,

London will impose a special traffic and parking regime, which will disrupt the whole of central and eastern London for the period, so that VIPs can whiz around in chauffeur-driven limos whilst, if some people are to be believed, the rest of the world goes to hell.

Parking will be widely banned, to the discomfort and

financial “dis-benefit” of local businesses and residents, and if they dare to infringe an Olympic ban, the axe man awaits them in the Tower of London. Parking professionals, who needs them? In a city that I know, the parking enforcement manager of 30-plus years fell out of favor